108 Quotes by Robert C. Martin

"The folks who think that code will one day disappear are like mathematicians who hope one day to discover a mathematics that does not have to be formal. They are hoping that one day we will discover a way to create machines that can do what we want rather than what we say. These machines will have to be able to understand us so well that they can translate vaguely specified needs into perfectly executing programs that precisely meet those needs. This will never happen."

"1. “First make it work.” You are out of business if it doesn’t work. 2. “Then make it right.” Refactor the code so that you and others can understand it and evolve it as needs change or are better understood. 3. “Then make it fast.” Refactor the code for “needed” performance."

"The way you keep software soft is to leave as many options open as possible, for as long as possible. What are the options that we need to leave open? They are the details that don’t matter."

"You should plan on working 60 hours per week. The first 40 are for your employer. The remaining 20 are for you. During this remaining 20 hours you should be reading, practicing, learning, and otherwise enhancing your career."

"Just as the Hare was overconfident in its speed, so the developers are overconfident in their ability to remain productive."

"Some folks think that Agile is about going fast. It’s not. It’s never been about going fast. Agile is about knowing, as early as possible, just how screwed we are."

"You should name a variable using the same care with which you name a first-born child."

"Good software systems begin with clean code. On the one hand, if the bricks aren’t well made, the architecture of the building doesn’t matter much. On the other hand, you can make a substantial mess with well-made bricks. This is where the SOLID principles come in."

"The first value of software – behavior – is urgent but not always particularly important. The second value of software – architecture – is important but never particularly urgent."

"The unit tests are documents. They describe the lowest-level design of the system."